I. nounEtymology: Middle English herbergere, from Anglo-French, host, from herberge camp, lodgings, of Germanic origin; akin to Old High German heribergaDate: 14th century1.archaic a person sent ahead to provide lodgings
2.a. one that pioneers in or initiates a major change ;precursorb. one that presages or foreshadows what is to come
Synonyms:seeforerunnerII. transitive verbDate: 1646
to be a harbinger of ;presage

harbinger — ► NOUN ▪ a person or thing that announces or signals the approach of something. ORIGIN originally denoting a person who provides or goes ahead to find lodging: from Old French herbergere, from an obsolete Low German dialect word meaning shelter… … English terms dictionary